Superstar Shakeup. Something Mike's not thought too seriously about, too busy with everything going on with his own family, with Heath and Maryse, with Ricardo and new drama brought up by Alberto being Alberto at the worst possible time. It's not until they're in bed and he's watching AJ sleep, unable to find the same level of rest himself, that it dawns on him. Shifting to Smackdown would mean he'd work Saturday to Tuesday, instead of Friday to Monday, and... well. He's not sure what to think about that, how to feel. He likes Smackdown, of course, and Raw's been troublesome ever since he was moved over there between Dean Ambrose, Braun Strowman, then Seth and Finn, and... He sighs and kisses AJ's forehead, relieved that at least one of them is having a good night's sleep.
He's still staring at the ceiling, waiting for either sleep to claim him or it to get to an hour when he could start his day without feeling too guilty at potentially waking AJ up, when he hears Sara starting to fuss over the monitor and gets up to check on her. She's pouting, eyes wide and wet, and reaches out for him as soon as she sees him, face clearing up as he hoists her up and smooths her clothes down, taking her to the bathroom. Once they finish, she seems much more content, resting her head on his chest and tugging lightly at his shirt as he walks her into the kitchen and prepares some breakfast for her while she waits in her high chair. Cereal and little pieces of bananas with halved blueberries, most of which she uses her fingers to eat, and only making a little mess with the thick plastic spoon that AJ had gotten for her when she began to feed herself.
He leans in and kisses her forehead, still thinking about what the Superstar Shakeup could bring. "No matter what," he whispers to her. "Mommy and I'll make it work. I promise you." She blinks up at him, waving her spoon around, when arms slink around him and he turns to find AJ hugging him, looking sleepy but pleased to find her little family awake and starting their day already. He curls an arm around her and sighs softly as she kisses between his pecs, leaving him hungry for more. Instead, he decides to focus on a different kind of sustenance. "What do you want for breakfast? Pancakes? French toast? Something else?"
As he moves to find their skillet, all he can think is the superstar shakeup and whatever potential shift in his schedule may be more an opportunity to make breakfast for the girls without his various media events and filming schedule clashing with AJ's book events and charity functions. For the first time since realizing how drastically things could change, he smiles, realizing how this may end up being a good thing.
It's only because of this that he doesn't entirely panic when Angle announces that Mike has been moved to Smackdown- without Bo and Axel. This puts him in Daniel's orbit, sure, but it also gets him away from the toxicity of those who seem so determined to see him fail. He doubts Shane will be much better in the long run, but decides to embrace the coming change. Until he gets backstage and finds Heath absently picking at his lips, everything crashing down around him anew. This move might be good for him in the long run but, unless Heath gets moved over, he and Maryse will be separated and should she decide to come back to work anytime soon, she'll be traveling on the opposing tour with little Monroe Sky. Mike pinches his nose before approaching him, briskly massaging between his shoulders. "Hey, man, I'm sorry. Are you ok?"
He's not surprised when Heath shakes his head, leaning into his touch with a vacant, pained stare. He is surprised when Heath and Rhyno wrestle against Authors of Pain and actually hold their own for awhile. Yeah, they lose, but the fact that they'd put up that much of a fight against the two monstrous men... well... says a lot about their determination not to get completely lost in the changes. Heath can barely walk without cringing after his nasty fall, Rhyno in pain too but trying to support him, and Mike swoops in and takes on some of his weight, helping him to the trainer's office. Once he's settled on a cot, Mike leans closer until they're eye to eye. "I'm not sure how this is going to work out," he tells him. "But we'll figure it out. You and your girls- you'll be as happy as me and mine in the end, I promise."
Heath chokes on his emotions, unable to respond verbally, but he nods and even manages a forced smile. It's not great, but it's a decent start, Mike decides as he sits next to Rhyno to wait.
His guilt and shame towards his treatment of Heath the last couple of years only grows when, later that night, Bo and Axel betray him in the middle of his final match on Raw, standing back and watching as Mike is pinned. He stares up the lights and thinks about getting his revenge on them but ultimately decides it's not worth it, they're not worth it. When he, Heath and Rhyno walk, quiet and moody, towards the rental car they're sharing for the final time, Mike stops and grips Heath's arm, slowing him and telling him as much. "I understand why you didn't want to work for me, but... I wish I'd heard you out when you needed a tag partner. Admittedly you got a good one with Rhyno here, but at least I would've known you'd have been loyal no matter what."
He looks almost bashful at this, shrugs. "Who knows, maybe Rhyno'n'I'll get drafted over tomorrow too, and things'll end up ok in the end."
Mike nods, but his suspicions are confirmed the next day when nothing is even suggested about Heath moving anywhere. Things get worse when Shane announces Paige as new general manager of Smackdown. Which means...
"My new boss is Ricardo's ex," he realizes in dawning horror, burying his face in his hands and wondering, not for the first time, why things can't even just be simple, go in his favor.